Blog Hiatus

We're not shutting down. We're just taking an indefinite break. My life bounces from obsession to obsession and right now it's family history reflected in the new blog, John & Elinor Vaughan Descendants. While obsessions get me going, its great when they're on the positive, rather than the negative side of life. And don't get me wrong, I'm not obsessive to a fault - or illness. I still do my job, love my wife, go to church, etc.

And right now after the little diatribe coming up, I need a break from political commentary because it's just the same, old, inane garbage going on. Our Munchkin Senator is still trying to destroy Obamacare or at least the whole government. Pay freezes, continuing resolutions, and sequester still going. And all because we have a good President that a significant minority of the country just can't stand. Most of the stuff they complain about is absolutely and totally false, stupid, or ridiculous.

One More Clue

Cross-posted from the NEW Family History Blog at johnelinorvaughan.blogspot.com! That doesn't mean I'm abandoning this one!

In the continuing search to find Elinor's grave (and at least we're on the right continent now), we find one more tantalizing clue in the Springfield City Cemetery, Utah County, Utah:

This is the grave marker for another of the plural wives of Charles Hulet in the Springville Cemetery that you can see here. So what is there of interest in this one above?

Dreamers

Went to a great concert the other night with some very good friends. It was Christopher Cross, Orleans, Firefall, Player, Robbie Dupree, and the Dream Weaver himself - Gary Wright. It was a late 70s into 80s nostalgia overdose. And loads of fun!

Just before it began there were still two empty seats to my right. As on an airplane, there was some sense of relief that an obnoxious walrus wasn't going to sit beside me. Then, this tall, blonde girl comes down the row and it was one of my favorite Cousins!

Found Her! (Almost . . .)

Springville Cemetery, Utah County, Utah

Great Expectations?

With so much family history and Scouting activities recently, I haven't had time to get too political. Well, how 'bout if we pine for the good old days in Britain before Labour governments destroyed the free enterprise system? Having stumbled into Dickensian coincidence with my own ancestors, I discover that I'm not a Thatcherite.

Last Day on the Trail

Leaving Philmont, we went north up I-25 and across Wyoming on I-80. It's longer, but at mostly freeway speeds it at least seems faster. We did take the Ft. Collins to Laramie cut-off, so that was some help. I was compelled to travel Wyoming again. I still can't get over the discovery of our Eleanor (Elinor) Vaughan walking across the plains with a handcart at 68 years of age!

With our grandson with us, it wasn't the day to go up to Ft. Laramie and Casper and follow the whole trail across Wyoming. But I was glad to see Granger after Little America where the Mormon Trail comes up from the Green then skirts Church Butte crossing I-80 into the Bridger Valley.

Attempting to liken the pioneer experience unto us, I offer the following:

Progressive Scouting

Feminism lives at Philmont Scout Ranch, Cimarron, New Mexico

No one would ever say "Liberal" Scouting. The Boy Scouts of America is a solidly conservative organization based on middle-class values transported from Victorian England (Lord Baden Powell, ¿no?) I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. In fact, most of it is quite good. My purpose here is to point out some important, if sometimes glacially slow, movement that Scouting has made in a good, progressive direction, IMHO.